“Father! Father! Please tell me an old story!”
“Hehe…”
Late at night.
Young Nikolai lay on his bed, his bright eyes shining.
The Emperor chuckled and, with his uncomfortable body, sat down in the chair beside his young son’s bed.
It was still a time when he was in good health.
At this point, he could not have imagined that within a few years, he would spend more time lying in bed than getting up.
“Please tell me a war story! About how Father fought directly on the front lines…!”
“Let’s save that story for later. How about a story from much longer ago?”
“Long ago? Is it about the Great War?”
“It’s even longer ago than that. It’s the story of the ancient dragon slayer, Tiamat.”
“Dragon slayer…!”
Young Nikolai’s eyes widened.
The dragon slayer Tiamat, who was said to have slaughtered hundreds of dragons.
The dragon’s massacre was a real event, and Tiamat was indeed a historical figure, but detailed stories about her were not passed down.
However, young Nikolai hoped that perhaps his father, the Emperor, would know the full story.
“The story I’m about to tell you is entirely confidential. It’s something only the royal family should know.”
“I’ll remember, Father!”
Young Nikolai whispered quietly in response.
The Emperor smiled at his son’s cute demeanor and began to share a not-so-confidential secret with him.
“Very long ago, in the southern part of the continent, a girl with black horns was born. Her name was Tiamat. She was a half-dragon, or rather, a dragonkin. But people, knowing nothing of this, persecuted mother and daughter, claiming they were the spawn of a demon.”
“Is that why Tiamat killed the dragons?!”
“Not yet… Just listen. Tiamat, who grew up under her mother’s care, had many talents. Not only in magic and miracles, but also in martial arts and strategy, she surpassed anyone else. However, even Tiamat could not prevent her mother from dying of an incurable illness. Enraged by her mother’s death, Tiamat made up her mind to find her father— the man who had never come to see her mother even once until her death.”
“So, did Tiamat find and kill her father?!”
“She did kill him… but, ah, just wait a moment and listen.”
As the Emperor’s large hand rested on young Nikolai’s head and roughly patted him, Nikolai giggled.
“Yes, Tiamat succeeded in finding her father after a long journey. However, upon meeting him, she was disappointed. He showed no sadness at her mother’s death and only looked confused, asking who she was. In that moment, Tiamat realized that dragons regarded humans as less than dirt. And she resolved to kill all such selfish beings. It all began with her father. Tiamat climbed onto the back of a dragon much larger than herself and broke its neck, killing it.”
“And then?”
“After that, Tiamat was immediately branded the enemy of dragons. They hurriedly organized a hunting party to chase Tiamat. Knowing this, Tiamat headed toward a canyon in the Demon Realm. The terrain was rough, making it difficult for dragons to fly, and it was the perfect place for her to face them one by one. When the hunting party arrived at the canyon, Tiamat, lying in ambush, launched her attack, and the battle began.”
Nikolai held his breath in suspense, captivated by the story.
Facing not just one or two, but hundreds of dragons—it was hard to believe.
“Pillars of fire poured down from the sky, and dragons struck by Tiamat’s spear fell like autumn leaves. The dragon’s blood created rivers, and the toxic gas filled the canyon, making it inaccessible to this day. Moreover, the bones and jewels of dragons piled together caused a mana anomaly in the area. It was a battle of such magnitude. However, unable to withstand the continuous assault from the hunting party, Tiamat ultimately fell.”
Thanks to Tiamat’s fierce struggle, the number of dragons, which had reached around 300, fell to fewer than 10.
As a result, the strength of the dragons also diminished greatly. Their original individual combat strength, which could easily annihilate an entire nation, was reduced to a mere fraction, equivalent to that of a single legion.
It was around this time that dragons, once revered as gods by humans, began to be regarded merely as powerful and intelligent beings.
“From then on, the name Tiamat became a synonym for something. There are two meanings: one is…”
“Dragon slayer!”
“That’s right. Dragon slayer. It means someone who kills dragons. Therefore, the name Tiamat became a taboo and is rarely given because it may provoke the wrath of dragons. And the second meaning is…”
The Emperor paused for a moment and hesitated, then decided to reveal the final meaning as well.
“It means ‘the daughter who killed her father.’ A meaning of patricide.”
“Patricide?”
“The story ends here. Now, go to sleep.”
“Huh…?”
The Emperor blew out the candle and turned around, leaving the child’s bedroom.
A sense of discomfort settled in his heart.
He felt as if he had just revealed the reason for his cold treatment of Nikolai’s sister.
—
Splash.
Water sounds echoed in the bathroom of the Dragania mansion.
The Duke, lying alone in the enormous bathtub, removed the cloth covering his face and sighed quietly.
“Ugh…”
His entire body still ached, and movement was uncomfortable.
Although his body had completely healed, his brain and nerves had not yet caught up.
It seemed he would have to rest for the entire day to fully recover.
However, the physical soreness was not the Duke’s primary concern.
His heart ached far more.
“It was Julia… It was Julia…”
As the warm holy power filled his body and his vision cleared, immediately afterward, he felt as if he was suffocating.
Julia stood in front of him.
But he was surprised for another reason.
He felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu from her clothing.
Her beautiful silver hair and alluring attire.
And the moment he saw her expression, which seemed to be paralyzed with fear, his foggy memories resurfaced, becoming vivid.
The woman the Duke had violated.
In other words, the first woman he had wronged resembled Julia.
He realized late that he had unknowingly raped a woman he had already impregnated and had later encountered her without recognizing her.
In that moment, it was impossible for him to accept that fact, so he ran away.
He had fled from Julia once again.
“Damn it…”
Only then did he understand the nature of the déjà vu he felt when he first saw Julia.
The mystery was completely unraveled.
Certainly, it was far more likely that a man who had lived for thousands of years and had never felt lust would not be able to restrain himself and violate two human women in such a short time.
The chances were much higher that both were the same person rather than two women capable of driving the Duke mad coexisting at the same time.
The Duke had never thought of such an obvious fact until now.
Of course, he had some excuses to make.
Who would imagine that a girl who was so talkative and playful could be the same as a baby just three months old?
Naturally, the Duke assumed she could not possibly be his child.
He thought it was just another dragon that had caused the trouble.
He never suspected that child could be his own daughter…
“Damn it. I’m going to go crazy.”
Tia is my daughter.
The Tia I cherished and loved is my own daughter.
On one hand, it could be seen as good news.
But the overwhelming feelings of guilt and remorse outweighed any joy, causing immense pain.
Thinking about what he did to Julia made his head heat up again.
He had brought every suffering and misery upon her while being a father who treated only his daughter well.
Even the Duke found himself repulsive and hypocritical, feeling as if he might throw up.
“This is the worst…”
It felt as if he were trapped in a nightmare.
The Duke rubbed his throbbing head and frowned.
He had belatedly realized he had committed an unforgivable act.
Now the question was how to proceed.
After deep contemplation, the Duke reached a conclusion.
“It must remain a secret…”
He would maintain the status quo.
That was the Duke’s decision.
No matter how he thought about it, it was the best option.
If he, as the perpetrator, felt this much pain, what would happen if Julia or Tia learned the truth?
That would be akin to violating Julia a second time.
No, he had already violated her twice, making it three times.
“I will live my life for Julia and Tiamat.”
With ragged breaths, the Duke made that vow.
From now on, his life would be for those two women.
He intended to live his life for the mother and daughter he had created and destroyed.
Of course, he decided to completely abandon any selfish desires.
He let go of any hopes.
His opportunity to be a normal father had already slipped away.
No, to be precise, he had thrown that opportunity away with his own hands.
